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I have been getting neck and shoulder ache after and during riding my bike, is it perhaps down to the 711mm wide bar I'm using? Riding position feels good, 50mm stem, i certainly don't feel stretched or over the front of the bike, which makes me think it could be the bar?
I do suffer with bad back from sat at desk too much and with bad posture 🙁
probably difficult to diagnose TBH.
i broke my spine years ago and dislocated my shoulder /tore the rotator cuff. wide-ish bars have really helped if anything (750mm) as my shoulder has a limited range of movement where i have decent strength. the increased bar width seems to put me in a stronger position. neck wise, im more comfortable with me elbows further out from my body, seems to relax the muscles a bit.
if bar width coincides with the discomfort its probabky worth the half hour of faff to fit your old bar and see if it helps i reckon
tbh i have had the wide bar for a while, and not felt the issue so much on other bikes. I'll try an old 685mm bar just to be sure...
i've had back problems and wide bars have helped. cockpit length is the key thing i found. 10mm can make a difference to how my neck and back feels
I think its your desk thats the problem.
I had shoulder/neck pain for months and assumed it was something to do with riding. Then I took 2 weeks off to ride 550 miles and expected the shoulder pain to be massively worse. After a couple of days it almost went!
On return to work it almost immediately returned.
In the end I got diagnosed with RSI due to work.
Some of the things I did while believing it was caused by riding have been helpful - I also widened my bars like Kudos says, got Mary bars for all my bikes (changes hand position and relieves shoulder) and fitted a riser stem to stop me putting so much weight through my shoulders. Careful adjustment of rucksack straps too.
Hope that helps and that you get better soon. Read up about RSI at work, there are lots of helpful suggestions out there 🙂
Desk job = back pain, especially when using a computer. Everyone knows that you should maintain proper posture, but the reality is that most of us do not do it consistently.
My back pain is alleviated by cycling and exercise in general. I have found that when it's particularly bad, a sports massage helps unlock tight spots, but regular daily stretching of the affected areas is the key for me (along with riding of course!)
Alternatively, take a holiday. 😉
I had shoulder/neck pain for months and assumed it was something to do with riding. Then I took 2 weeks off to ride 550 miles and expected the shoulder pain to be massively worse. After a couple of days it almost went!On return to work it almost immediately returned.
+1
****, I'd LOVE a week off.
Has anything changed recently that might account for it?